JACKSON, MI – Witnesses who supplied initial reports of strange creatures on the city’s west side were intrigued and perhaps a little spooked.

“Strange, alien-looking beings or sculpted creatures of unknown nature and origin have appeared on the lawn of a home directly across Spring Arbor Road from Consumers Power Federal Credit Union,” according to the first report to reach my Minor Investigations Desk.

“They seem to be of a nocturnal nature, as their location in the yard moves from place to place but they can never be seen moving. It appears they come alive only at night. What can they possibly be?”

The Minor Investigations Task Force slouched into action. Driving to the scene, I found three white, stone-like figures on the lawn.

From a certain angle, they reminded me of polar bears walking across pack ice. My wife examined photographic evidence and declared they look a little like birds.

Deeper investigation was required, so I made contact with the owner of the property in question, Jackson dentist Richard L. Carpenter.

“I am not sure what they are,” Carpenter said. “I think of them as dolphins. They make me think of the sea.”

The dolphins/birds/polar bears were stored in a garage for many years, Carpenter explained, until he decided a few weeks ago that they ought to be seen.

Carpenter painted the three of the creatures, a fourth was broken, and placed them in his front yard. The figures appear to be plaster over wire forms, he said.

Where did they come from originally? That information is uncertain.

Carpenter believed a nephew now in California made the figures, but the nephew recalls nothing of it. It is possible, Carpenter said, they were left behind by previous owners of his house.

Do they move at night? Not exactly.

“I have to rearrange them a little bit from time to time, just to find the best position,” Carpenter said.

The entire Carpenter yard display, as of Monday.

In the midst of the investigation, Carpenter disclosed an important development.

“I am going to put some more things out,” he said. Last weekend, he added three abstract figures made of wood painted white. His daughter, Sara, created those in a college art class years ago.